Struggling

1281

Hi All,

This may come across as someone rambling but just really seem to be struggling for confidence, so i'm looking for a few pointers.
Come back to Sky in the last few weeks and told myself to start a fresh. I cashed in the Sunday night primo about 6 months for about £290 I think from a £3 allin sat and thought that was start of something good. Lots of poor football bets on Skybet quickly reduced my bankroll, and tilt did the rest. So when I had my break from Sky I started at micro dyms / £100 deepy / dtd2 to which my results are:
0.60 dym - played 30, cashed 21 / 9 didn't
1.00 dym = played 3, cashed in 1
dtd2, played one and min cashed
£100 deepy, played 7 no cashes yet.
Just seems whatever moves I make i'm either getting found out, or called down to be outdrawn. Really not thinking of stopping because I love the game too much, but lately the thought of switching the laptop on makes me think "how mad am I going to get tonight"

Any ideas guys of overcoming the blues?

Thanks Karim / 1281

scouse_red

In Response to Struggling:

Hi All, This may come across as someone rambling but just really seem to be struggling for confidence, so i'm looking for a few pointers. Come back to Sky in the last few weeks and told myself to start a fresh. I cashed in the Sunday night primo about 6 months for about £290 I think from a £3 allin sat and thought that was start of something good. Lots of poor football bets on Skybet quickly reduced my bankroll, and tilt did the rest. So when I had my break from Sky I started at micro dyms / £100 deepy / dtd2 to which my results are: 0.60 dym - played 30, cashed 21 / 9 didn't 1.00 dym = played 3, cashed in 1 dtd2, played one and min cashed £100 deepy, played 7 no cashes yet. Just seems whatever moves I make i'm either getting found out, or called down to be outdrawn. Really not thinking of stopping because I love the game too much, but lately the thought of switching the laptop on makes me think "how mad am I going to get tonight" Any ideas guys of overcoming the blues? Thanks Karim / 1281
Posted by 1281

Hi Karim, why not post some hands up in the poker clinic you'll get loads of advice in there, might be a recurring mistake you're making somewhere along the way

1281

In Response to Re: Struggling:

In Response to Struggling : Hi Karim, why not post some hands up in the poker clinic you'll get loads of advice in there, might be a recurring mistake you're making somewhere along the way
Posted by scouse_red

might not play tonight so it would probably be a good idea.

hhyftrftdr

Very small sample size above.

Should really be playing for enjoyment at that level, if you ain't enjoying it then perhaps extend the break? Or stick to the 60p DYM's that seem to be your most profitable game. But mostly play what you enjoy!

GL!

1281

In Response to Re: Struggling:

Very small sample size above. Should really be playing for enjoyment at that level, if you ain't enjoying it then perhaps extend the break? Or stick to the 60p DYM's that seem to be your most profitable game. But mostly play what you enjoy! GL!
Posted by hhyftrftdr

thanks for the reply HH,
I cant stay away from it, that's a big problem for me, think when its going bad I can just play through it. Regarding the 0.60 dym's, yeah while the volume is good its not doing much for my BR..... and when ive won a few and made the massive step up to £1 ones!!!!, my game just turned to mush.
I know my game is better than these SNG levels but not trusting that game currently to move up.

1281

played the dtd2
out 3rd hand with kk v qq..... q on flop

TeddyBloat

if you are getting angry and not looking forawrd to playing then i wouldnt play.

you need to deal with those issues. if you are tilting at bad beats then that the first leak to fix imo. you just have to find bad beats an incredibly mundane and boring part of poker. bad beats happen to EVERYONE. theres not a player on the planet who doesnt get them.

you should find them boring, BBV is the dullest forum by a mile. filled with dreary stories of aces getting cracked on the bubble, yawwwnnnnnn innit.

remember, you are not special

you are not getting more than your fair share longterm

the universe indifferent to your success in £2 dtd games.

get back to the basics of enjoying the battle with other players, try some different formats / variants and get back to loving the game and remember horrendous beats / wild variance is a fundamental part of that. seeing your 2 outer spike on the river v your table nemisis is pow-in-your-face-BOSSSSNESSS innit.

jdsallstar

This is a decent read

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/17682-poker-strategy-with-ed-miller-are-you-running-bad-or-playing-bad

poppy765

Hey 1281 as long as you are enjoying playing then it should be ok but chasing losses is never a good thing. 

IMO there's not a huge difference in play in the play of dyms upto at least £11 so perhaps your problem is more psychological.

If you want to build your bankroll without much risk then (given your strengths) i'd suggest you do the dym spin up challenge on the forum. Then just stop when you feel uncomfortable, take the cash and start again. Before long i'm sure you'll have your confidence back.

Best of luck! 

K8LOU

I totally understand how you feel sir, I have recently been dropped by my backers after a really bad couple of months. I am now trying to grind a roll playing microstakes mtts and stts on another site, I keep asking myself how I used to beat mtts consistently, i find myself getting really really angry when I log a session an get 1 outerd in every 9/10 pots, I decided to go over some hhs last night around 10pm, I quickly realized that I am making a tons of mistakes and that this was all not down to me running bad, I had some really good shots going last night in bigger comps that I satted in for but I found myself forcing the action and basically got caught bluffing off my stack in all the mtts I was deep in. basically all I am saying is I dont think any1 can play perfect when we are on a bad run, alls we can do is see where we are making mistakes and try and not make them again, hope this helps mate. 

devonfish5

Hi Karim,

How many tables are you playing?

if it is more than 2 then the first thing i would do is drop down to playing 2 at the most.

I now think more & more about every hand i play, position, opponents, how they play, loose tight, etc.

i then decide if i am playing the hand how i am playing it, & what i am going to do on each street & by how each card comes.

once you start thinking about poker more as a game of chess, ie; what am i going to do if my opponents do this & what will they do if i do that sort of thing, the whole game changes & becomes so much easier for you, at least it has for me.

ok, i only play dym's but i'm sure it must be the same for all games.

you can't change how the cards fall & the luck factor plays it's part both good & bad, but by doing as many good things as possible helps us overcome that, over time anyway.

also, drop down levels/buy-ins etc & play well within your b/r which should help. i once dropped from playing £3 dym's to £1 dym's overnight when running/playing really badly, so i guess we have all been there at various times, so don't feel what you are going through is only happening to you.

i've even played freerolls for a week just to get out of the losing money while playing habit too, which helped me at the time.

you should also be thinking about using some kind of good brm, which will help & only gamble with what you can afford to lose from your whole b/r then any losses you get shouldn't hurt you nearly as much.

also, if/when we are losing it probably isn't just 'bad luck' we are probably making some bad decisions to add to that, which only compounds things. be honest with yourself & see if you can identify those 'bad plays' because then you can do something to correct them. even finding just one or two 'leaks' in your game & stopping them makes a BIG difference, trust me, i have found that out for myself only quite recently.

what might your leaks be? assuming i'm right in my thinking & you have some.

could be any number of things; playing too many tables, not table selecting, this might help. playing too loose ie; too many hands, playing to tight. calling pre-flop instead you should be maybe raising & reducing number of opponents in the hand.calling too much in general.

your bet-sizing, is it too big/not big enough. position in the hand & what our starting hand range might be.

in dym's specifically...how you play through each stage of the game ie; the first 3-4 levels, you are probably playing too loose so tighten up a bit with hand selection there

loosen up a bit mid stages & look to steal chips where you can & pick up on any weak play from your opponents

the end game,ie; bubble, you now need to think even more about EVERY MOVE you make, any mistake here & say goodbye to not only your stake but any profits too.

it's now aggression aggression & more aggression WHEN we play any hand, no limping in or calling now..unless you have a good reason for doing so, ie; you intend betting/bluffing on a later street, or think you can get to showdown cheaply.

you should also be making notes on every player at your table, this is so important as it tells us all we need to know about how they play, & how we can best play back at them. most players make the same moves over & over again, myself included no doubt.

 good luck & best wishes,

dev

1281

Thanks for the reply guys, I'm home from work in a couple of hours so I'll reply to each bit of advice

1281

In Response to Re: Struggling:

Hey 1281 as long as you are enjoying playing then it should be ok but chasing losses is never a good thing.  IMO there's not a huge difference in play in the play of dyms upto at least £11 so perhaps your problem is more psychological. If you want to build your bankroll without much risk then (given your strengths) i'd suggest you do the dym spin up challenge on the forum. Then just stop when you feel uncomfortable, take the cash and start again. Before long i'm sure you'll have your confidence back. Best of luck! 
Posted by poppy765

thanks Poppy,
I'm not stopping playing, but I'm definitely raining the numbers down until I regain some confidence / the swings turn. Thinking of purely focusing on what is my best game, which is deep stack mtts so probably will play just the 7.15 deepy most night. If I play well, and hopefully cash brilliant, if not, switch off, forget about it and wait for the next night.
thanks again Karim

1281

In Response to Re: Struggling:

Hi Karim, How many tables are you playing? if it is more than 2 then the first thing i would do is drop down to playing 2 at the most. I now think more & more about every hand i play, position, opponents, how they play, loose tight, etc. i then decide if i am playing the hand how i am playing it, & what i am going to do on each street & by how each card comes. once you start thinking about poker more as a game of chess, ie; what am i going to do if my opponents do this & what will they do if i do that sort of thing, the whole game changes & becomes so much easier for you, at least it has for me. ok, i only play dym's but i'm sure it must be the same for all games. you can't change how the cards fall & the luck factor plays it's part both good & bad, but by doing as many good things as possible helps us overcome that, over time anyway. also, drop down levels/buy-ins etc & play well within your b/r which should help. i once dropped from playing £3 dym's to £1 dym's overnight when running/playing really badly, so i guess we have all been there at various times, so don't feel what you are going through is only happening to you. i've even played freerolls for a week just to get out of the losing money while playing habit too, which helped me at the time. you should also be thinking about using some kind of good brm, which will help & only gamble with what you can afford to lose from your whole b/r then any losses you get shouldn't hurt you nearly as much. also, if/when we are losing it probably isn't just 'bad luck' we are probably making some bad decisions to add to that, which only compounds things. be honest with yourself & see if you can identify those 'bad plays' because then you can do something to correct them. even finding just one or two 'leaks' in your game & stopping them makes a BIG difference, trust me, i have found that out for myself only quite recently. what might your leaks be? assuming i'm right in my thinking & you have some. could be any number of things; playing too many tables, not table selecting, this might help. playing too loose ie; too many hands, playing to tight. calling pre-flop instead you should be maybe raising & reducing number of opponents in the hand.calling too much in general. your bet-sizing, is it too big/not big enough. position in the hand & what our starting hand range might be. in dym's specifically...how you play through each stage of the game ie; the first 3-4 levels, you are probably playing too loose so tighten up a bit with hand selection there loosen up a bit mid stages & look to steal chips where you can & pick up on any weak play from your opponents the end game,ie; bubble, you now need to think even more about EVERY MOVE you make, any mistake here & say goodbye to not only your stake but any profits too. it's now aggression aggression & more aggression WHEN we play any hand, no limping in or calling now..unless you have a good reason for doing so, ie; you intend betting/bluffing on a later street, or think you can get to showdown cheaply. you should also be making notes on every player at your table, this is so important as it tells us all we need to know about how they play, & how we can best play back at them. most players make the same moves over & over again, myself included no doubt.  good luck & best wishes, dev
Posted by devonfish5

Hi Dev, thanks for lengthy reply, its greatly appreciated.
I'll try and be to the point with what you've asked. For around 3 weeks now i've been playing two tables, always one FR usually and either the 7.15 deepy or a sng dym. Regarding the thinking behind each move, this is were I might sound stupid, I think i'm over thinking my play especially in the low level sngs where people are limp calling with q2 off. A massive part of me wants to be just as care free as the players i'm playing against. A major leak in my game is getting frustrated when it doesn't go my way. One thing I think I need to do is turn off the chat box because it usually turns into a "discussion". But then again I've a decent relationship with certain players so don't want to miss the banter.
Regarding my play itself, the bluffs and wide range play I totally reined in about 2 weeks ago when the down swing began. Guess im just doing through one of them phases you all go through.
I'm going to dig out a couple of good books a bought a couple of years ago and give them a read again. As I mentioned above, revert to just playing one mtt per night until i'm happy with my game again.
thanks again Karim

1281

In Response to Re: Struggling:

Hi Karim, How many tables are you playing? if it is more than 2 then the first thing i would do is drop down to playing 2 at the most. I now think more & more about every hand i play, position, opponents, how they play, loose tight, etc. i then decide if i am playing the hand how i am playing it, & what i am going to do on each street & by how each card comes. once you start thinking about poker more as a game of chess, ie; what am i going to do if my opponents do this & what will they do if i do that sort of thing, the whole game changes & becomes so much easier for you, at least it has for me. ok, i only play dym's but i'm sure it must be the same for all games. you can't change how the cards fall & the luck factor plays it's part both good & bad, but by doing as many good things as possible helps us overcome that, over time anyway. also, drop down levels/buy-ins etc & play well within your b/r which should help. i once dropped from playing £3 dym's to £1 dym's overnight when running/playing really badly, so i guess we have all been there at various times, so don't feel what you are going through is only happening to you. i've even played freerolls for a week just to get out of the losing money while playing habit too, which helped me at the time. you should also be thinking about using some kind of good brm, which will help & only gamble with what you can afford to lose from your whole b/r then any losses you get shouldn't hurt you nearly as much. also, if/when we are losing it probably isn't just 'bad luck' we are probably making some bad decisions to add to that, which only compounds things. be honest with yourself & see if you can identify those 'bad plays' because then you can do something to correct them. even finding just one or two 'leaks' in your game & stopping them makes a BIG difference, trust me, i have found that out for myself only quite recently. what might your leaks be? assuming i'm right in my thinking & you have some. could be any number of things; playing too many tables, not table selecting, this might help. playing too loose ie; too many hands, playing to tight. calling pre-flop instead you should be maybe raising & reducing number of opponents in the hand.calling too much in general. your bet-sizing, is it too big/not big enough. position in the hand & what our starting hand range might be. in dym's specifically...how you play through each stage of the game ie; the first 3-4 levels, you are probably playing too loose so tighten up a bit with hand selection there loosen up a bit mid stages & look to steal chips where you can & pick up on any weak play from your opponents the end game,ie; bubble, you now need to think even more about EVERY MOVE you make, any mistake here & say goodbye to not only your stake but any profits too. it's now aggression aggression & more aggression WHEN we play any hand, no limping in or calling now..unless you have a good reason for doing so, ie; you intend betting/bluffing on a later street, or think you can get to showdown cheaply. you should also be making notes on every player at your table, this is so important as it tells us all we need to know about how they play, & how we can best play back at them. most players make the same moves over & over again, myself included no doubt.  good luck & best wishes, dev
Posted by devonfish5

Hi Dev, thanks for lengthy reply, its greatly appreciated.
I'll try and be to the point with what you've asked. For around 3 weeks now i've been playing two tables, always one FR usually and either the 7.15 deepy or a sng dym. Regarding the thinking behind each move, this is were I might sound stupid, I think i'm over thinking my play especially in the low level sngs where people are limp calling with q2 off. A massive part of me wants to be just as care free as the players i'm playing against. A major leak in my game is getting frustrated when it doesn't go my way. One thing I think I need to do is turn off the chat box because it usually turns into a "discussion". But then again I've a decent relationship with certain players so don't want to miss the banter.
Regarding my play itself, the bluffs and wide range play I totally reined in about 2 weeks ago when the down swing began. Guess im just doing through one of them phases you all go through.
I'm going to dig out a couple of good books a bought a couple of years ago and give them a read again. As I mentioned above, revert to just playing one mtt per night until i'm happy with my game again.
thanks again Karim

1281

In Response to Re: Struggling:

I totally understand how you feel sir, I have recently been dropped by my backers after a really bad couple of months. I am now trying to grind a roll playing microstakes mtts and stts on another site, I keep asking myself how I used to beat mtts consistently, i find myself getting really really angry when I log a session an get 1 outerd in every 9/10 pots, I decided to go over some hhs last night around 10pm, I quickly realized that I am making a tons of mistakes and that this was all not down to me running bad, I had some really good shots going last night in bigger comps that I satted in for but I found myself forcing the action and basically got caught bluffing off my stack in all the mtts I was deep in. basically all I am saying is I dont think any1 can play perfect when we are on a bad run, alls we can do is see where we are making mistakes and try and not make them again, hope this helps mate. 
Posted by K8LOU

Hi Lou,
makes my little issue..... well little in comparison if you've gone through that. As well as digging the books out again ive started reviewing hands again which I have done in about 12 months. Its not good viewing if im being honest.
Thanks Karim

1281

little bump by myself

come 3rd from 109 in tonights 7.15 deepy for £22.89

bit of confidence restored and very happy with my play

rainman397

In Response to Re: Struggling:

little bump by myself come 3rd from 109 in tonights 7.15 deepy for £22.89 bit of confidence restored and very happy with my play
Posted by 1281

EXCELLENT VWP

devonfish5

NICE 1